Saturday, May 8, 2010

SEE - Search, Evaluate and Execute in Organic Church

My husband and I are motorcycle riding instructors for the State of MN, certified by an organization called MSF (Motorcycle Safety Foundation). In the classroom portion of the motorcycle instruction curriculum, we teach a strategy for motorcycle riding which goes by the acronym SEE. The S is for search, E for evaluate, and the last E for execute.We teach riders to "SEE" constantly while driving their motorcycle, and that it is a never ending process in riding a motorcycle.

Search and pay attention to all the details of things going on all around you. Use your eyes and ears to search and gain information. What do you see?

Evaluate. What are your options and the possible scenarios and courses of action you could take with what you've seen and heard? What will your response be to what you've seen? What are you going to do?

Execute an action based upon your evaluation. Commit and move.

The Bible tells us to have eyes and ears that hear what the Holy Spirit is speaking to us. To each of us, individually and uniquely, through our relationship with Him, He is communicating with us. Have we learned to listened? Have we learned to hear His Voice above all others?

He is our teacher and instructor. He is committed to conform us into the likeness of Christ and accomplish the plans and purposes of God, in and through us. He has a strategy for accomplishing this in our lives.

A strategy birthed in Him and initiated by Him - that's organic.

It's not following a model or technique. Rather it is following the Biblical principles that teach us to listen, obey, mature, how to have authentic relationships, live in a lifestyle that incorporates Him into every interaction.

Similar to my husband and I instructing the individual motorcycle riders in our classes in affective riding, Gods strategy for accomplishing Organic Kingdom Life also involves our seeing/searching, evaluating, and executing. And like our SEE acronym in riding; it is a never ending process!

Here are some of His own words to us on the topic of see:

Ezekiel 40:4The man said to me, "Son of man, look with your eyes and hear with your ears and pay attention to everything I am going to show you, for that is why you have been brought here. Tell the house of Israel everything you see.Mark 8:18Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don't you remember?Isaiah 41:20That they may see and recognize, And consider and gain insight as well, That the hand of the LORD has done this, And the Holy One of Israel has created it.Jeremiah 23:18"But who has stood in the council of the LORD, That he should see and hear His word? Who has given heed to His word and listened?Mark 8:1And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, "Why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet see or understand? Do you have a hardened heart?Revelation 3:18I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.Deuteronomy 1:33I who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go.Ezekiel 34:4You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally.Matthew 10:11"Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you leave.1 Corinthians 2:10but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.

And to evaluate (understand):

1 Chronicles 28:19"All this," David said, "I have in writing from the hand of the LORD upon me, and he gave me understanding in all the details of the plan."Psalm 119:125I am your servant; give me discernment that I may understand your statutes.Philemon 1:6I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.

And to execute (act):Philippians 2:13for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.2 Thessalonians 1:11With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.Philemon 1:6I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.

Organic Kingdom life is a never ending process of seeing(searching), evaluating and executing alongside the Holy Spirit who is the faithful Guide. He will get you to where you need to be. No doubt about that! The choice is ours. Will we learn to let Him guide us and live a life of faith and adventure of not knowing where the road will take us on our journey to the finish line?

5 comments:

Good word, Katie. I especially liked, "He is our teacher and instructor. He is committed to conform us into the likeness of Christ and accomplish the plans and purposes of God, in and through us. He has a strategy for accomplishing this in our lives."

Jesus taught principle and stuff like "when you pray do it in secret", "ask, seek, knock", etc.He ministered in different ways, said things in different ways, and constantly taught the principles of what He and the Father wanted;

Biblical principles like;

learning to listen to God's voice and recognize Him over all others,

obedience regardless of cost, timing, ego, etc.,

putting others ahead of oneself in esteem, with support, etc.,

"decreasing vs increasing" of oneself

looking for lasting fruit vs momentary "buzz"

quality over quantity....

Okay - that's a very short list of a couple of the Biblical principles I am thinking of.

Models and Techniques are all about "man made" stuff that people love to take a hold of because its "quick and looks good",... in the short term. These things start out with someone hearing from God about how to do something that He is calling them to do....then it becomes transported to everyone else REGARDLESS of whether that is what the Lord wants, only because "it worked for them! it should work for us too!!"Stuff like that becomes the programs eventually practiced in the fellowship and people don't need to hear from God anymore, they can just go out and "do it" regardless

The Bible says that "Jesus, only did that which the Father was doing", each and everyday and in constant dependency and uniqueness given the circumstances and what God wanted to show and teach that day.....we've lost that kind of "organic" relationship with God and settled for something far inferior - instead, relying upon techniques, human wisdom/strategy, other peoples' models, etc. - that's what I'm speaking of...